Why Saying Is Believing — The Science Of Self-Talk

Body Image is a complex topic. Often we think it is limited to how we picture ourselves. Research with persons with eating disorders often have significantly inaccurate representations of the shape of their bodies. But what if we go a step further, to the statements we make about ourselves. For example, the bulimic person may say "I'm too fat".

Psychologist Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan studied the pronouns people use when they talk to themselves silently, inside their minds.

"What we find," Kross says, "is that a subtle linguistic shift — shifting from 'I' to your own name — can have really powerful self-regulatory effects." (click to read more)